Not ANOTHER Necchi!

  

On vacation last week, I was crawling through thrift stores in Fredericksburg, Virginia looking for treasures.  On the back wall of a Goodwill store, I spotted a plain gray sewing machine carrying case with no name on it.  The metal on the clasps and carrying handle was rusty, an indication that the machine was stored in an area of high humidity. Thinking it was probably a rusty Japanese clone, I reluctantly lifted the lid and found a Necchi Lydia 3 – one of the last of the Italian-made Necchis.

It was dirty and missing the foot control but there was no rust on the inside, it had the extension table (not shown in the above photo), a full complement of accessories, the paint was in good condition and the balance wheel turned smoothly so I gave the cashier the $9.95 on the price tag and tossed it in the back of the van.  I had to go all week knowing that machine was in there and I couldn’t play with it because we were staying in hotels and I had no tools or foot control with me.  Today, I pulled it out and cleaned it up and oiled it.  I had a spare Necchi foot control that could easily be modified to work on the Lydia and didn’t need to replace any other parts.

  I did have a few problems, when I took off the pieces covering the needlebar and presser bar, a plastic piece fell out and it took a while to figure out that it controlled the presser foot pressure and how to get that piece reinstalled properly. After I finally got the machine all back together, I couldn’t figure out how to thread it and had to get on the internet and look up a threading diagram; then there were tension issues.  Cleaning the tension disks seems to have solved that one.

  The reason I have no Lydias in my Necchi collection is because that model has a fatal flaw – a plastic camshaft.  The camshaft controls all the decorative and utility stitches and the camshafts made of plastic crack after a period of years and have to be replaced for a King’s ransom.  In the store, I set the stitch selector on a decorative stitch and carefully felt for bumps as I slowly turned the balance wheel.  If the camshaft is severely cracked, you can feel the imperfection as the cam follower rides over the crack.  The decorative stitches will all have a visible flaw because the crack acts as a low spot on the cam and allows the needle to move in a direction that was not intended.

  Opening the end cover, my fears were realized when I saw several small cracks in both ends of the camshaft.  The good news is that none of the cracks run the full length of the camshaft, this is the worst one. Also, none of the cracks are wide enough to visibly affect the decorative stitches.  It sews well on a test, patch, now to find a small project to more fully check it out.

Who Let the Feed Dogs Out?

Singer 645

Back in the middle of the 600 Series Touch & Sews, Singer decided that rubber-coated feed dogs would be a good idea.  They would feed even the finest of fabrics without snagging or leaving marks on the fabric. 

  Unfortunately, Singer forgot that rubber and sewing machine oil don’t play well together and the rubber coating on the feed dogs softens and crumbles off.  When that happens, fabric will not feed and the machine will not sew.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me to look at a 645 that she picked up at a thrift shop.  The first thing I saw was that the rubber had melted and was all out of shape. 

  Before investing $20 in a new feed dog, I looked at the internal gears.  This series not only has a rubber feed dog, but plastic internal gears, also.  All the plastic gears appeared to have been replaced because they were all black.  The original gears were white and turn yellow/brown with age just before they crumble and break.  Someone had spent a good deal of money having those gears replaced and I have not yet seen a black replacement gear crack or break.   The machine ran quiet and smooth, so I decided it was worth the money to replace the feed dog.

  Rubber-coated feed dogs are available but there is another option.  After a few years, Singer realized that rubber-coated feed dogs were a mistake and went back to metal feed dogs with teeth.  Those feed dogs from later model 600 series Touch & Sews fit perfectly where the rubber feed dogs were.

 Just pop off the throat plate, remove the two screws holding the feed dog and lift off the feed dog.  Set the new piece in place, replace the two screws and reinstall the throat plate.  Takes less than 15 minutes.  The metal feed dogs are about $2 cheaper but I happened to have one in the parts bin from a machine with cracked gears that I had parted out. 

After seeing this machine, I am re-thinking the plastic gear issue and might try replacing a full set myself next time I run into a 600 series Touch & Sew that needs re-gearing.

Sad Necchi BU

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Necchi BU because a $10 one from a thrift shop was my first exposure to the quality and sturdiness of Italian-built Necchis and Necchis have been my favorite machines ever since.  A few of the post WWII Japanese machines come close, but I have found none yet that can match the smooth, quiet sewing of a well-oiled Necchi BU or Supernova.  Anyway, this BU had been relegated to my storage shed for several years at the old house and sitting in the garage at the new house since we moved in a year ago.  It has been so long since I used it, I don’t even remember why I initially put it in storage.  It isn’t pretty by any means, paint on the bed is cracking, paint on the head is dull and the chrome is beginning to rust.  I vaguely remember tension issues, but can’t be sure after all this time.  I decided it either had to be rehabilitated or stripped for parts.  Either way, it was not going to take up precious garage space any longer.

On the workbench, I found that the balance wheel would only make about half a rotation so I lubricated every friction point with Tri-Flow Lubricant and worked the balance wheel back and forth for about half an hour.  Things weren’t getting any freer, so I got out a spray can of Permatex Ultra Slick Synthetic All-Purpose Lubricant and sprayed that all over the underside and inside the machine.  In short time, the mechanism freed up and the motor spun the machine so fast I thought it was going to take off!  That lasted for about a minute, and then it froze up again.  This has been my experience with the modern wonder lubricants - they don’t do what they advertise and don’t last.  Resorting to the old standby sewing machine oil, I oiled the machine and in just a few minutes had it running like new. At least the modern wonder lubricants broke the mechanism loose so the sewing machine oil could do its job.

The next issue was mounting the head in a cabinet.  Original ads for the Necchi BU stressed the fact that many parts of the machine were common and repairs would not be a problem.  But for some odd reason, the holes for the cabinet-to-machine mounting hinges are smaller than all the rest and standard hinges will not fit in the holes.  It's virtually impossible to find a set of the correct hinge pins.  In the past, I have reamed out the BU holes to accept standard hinges but am afraid that might weaken the bed and the weight of the machine could cause the metal of the bed to crack and the machine fall out of the cabinet.  Now, I take a standard set of hinge pins and grind them down just enough to fit the holes in the BU.

This was not the last of the problems, though, when I attempted to sew a test patch, the material wouldn’t feed and when it did, stitch length was not consistent.  It also felt like the presser foot was not doing a good job of pushing the fabric down against the feed dog.  I lowered the presser foot about a quarter inch and stitch quality improved. I haven't permanently solved this problem, I think the presser foot is not original Necchi but an industrial high shank foot.  Many folks don't realize that high shank feet and industrial feet are the same thing.  If you have high shank machines and need feet, investigate the industrial feet sold on eBay for options.  Anyway, I will try replacing this one with a Necchi foot to see if it makes any difference, if that doesn't fix it, I will lower the presser bar a bit.

One thing I like about this machine is the light.  It has “Necchi” embossed on the shade, so I am fairly sure it is a genuine Necchi light but it is mounted using a swivel with multiple joints so the light can be repositioned an infinite number of ways.  If I ever decide to get rid of this machine, I will definitely keep the light.

A Squid in My Jeans?

With all my recent business travel, college visits with my Rising Senior Daughter, and family illnesses, it has been a long time since I last posted.  To get back in the swing, I am going to start off with a simple recycled jean project.

 In Big Lots yesterday, I spotted a cell phone charger on sale for $8.  That’s not a great price, except this model had a charger that would plug into either a wall socket or a car cigarette lighter and six different “heads” to fit many different phones.  I could see carrying only one charger and using it to charge my daughter’s Motorola, my Blackberry, and my wife’s LG either in the minivan or in a hotel room.  I envisioned the cable looking like a squid with a head shaped like a USB plug and six tentacles streaming out behind.  In that configuration, I could conceivably charge all three phones simultaneously.

  Unfortunately, when I got home and opened the package, I found the squid head shaped like a USB plug, but the tentacles were separate adapters that plugged individually into the South end of the squid.  So, I can only charge one phone at a time and I had to come up with some way to keep track of all those loose adapters.

Knowing that I had a pair of discarded jeans on my cutting table, I decided to recycle that fabric, rather than buying new.  As I looked to find the best place to cut, I noticed a rear pocket and decided that if I could incorporate that pocket into my design, half of the cutting and sewing had already been done for me.  I cut out the pocket leaving about one inch of fabric all around.  

Next, I cut a chunk from the bottom of a leg, keeping the hem intact.  I trimmed that piece to the exact shape of the bottom and sides of the pocket, with about 2-3 inches extra at the top to serve as a cover flap.

I rolled over the fabric above the pocket and made a hem.  Then, I measured and sewed six even slots in the pocket to hold the six adapters.  

Next, I sewed the pant leg piece to the back side of the pocket and rolled the extra fabric from around the pocket to the back side and sewed along the pocket seam to hold it.  I could have been neater if I had taken more time, but thinking this would only be a prototype, I was more interested in getting it done quickly.

After coming up with some way to fasten down the flap, the six adapters fit snugly in the pocket and the charger and squid live in the compartment behind the pocket.

To keep this on topic, I was going to discuss the Necchi BU I used for this project, but this post has gotten so long I will save that for another day.

Fair Lady?

Lest you think I don't care about anything but Necchi and Singer, let me show you my latest acquisition - a White Model 764. I have seen it called a "Fairlady" or "Fair Lady"on the internet, but see nothing on the machine itself to substantiate that.

 I have been hoping to run across one of these for many years because I just like the looks with that integrated handle. Until today, every one I had seen was either way too expensive, or in poor condition, or both. I happened across this one in a thrift shop while I was searching for an AC adapter for some wireless headphones. One look at the immaculate paint and the $20 price tag and I didn't even spin the balance wheel, just bought it then and there.

 When I got it home and started playing with it, I found the bobbin case jammed in the shuttle race and the check spring out of adjustment. Oh, and it was missing the presser foot.  It took less than 10 minutes to get it sewing.

 It is in exceptional condition, not a chip or scratch on the paint. Any imperfections you think you see in the photo are either reflections or dust. That's the secret to collecting vintage sewing machines, go for the cosmetic condition because the mechanicals can be replaced, but once the paint is gone, it's gone.

  The engraving on the bobbin cover (it's not a slide plate 'cause it doesn't slide - maybe it's a hinge plate) says "Selected for the House of Good Taste New York World's Fair".  That puts this machine's birthday around 1964.

One-Block Wonder

I haven't blogged in quite some time - buying a new house and business travel have occupied most of my spare time in the past year. Today, I had time to fit in a small sewing project. A co-worker who has a phobia of sitting in seats previously used by strangers (rental cars, airline seats, etc.) asked me to make a seat cover for her. She gave me a piece of yoga mat cut to the shape she wanted and I was to make a cover for it. She provided very little guidance, when I asked what color she would like, she said, "surprise me" and when I asked if there was some special quilt pattern she would like, she said, "no, anything quilty".

With that to go by, I started rifling through my wife's quilt fabric stash for raw materials and hit the internet looking for a block pattern I could whip up in a hurry that would still look like I worked real hard. Here is the finished product:

Because piecing quilts is boring to me, I only make small quilt items. My wife calls me a One-Block Wonder.

To keep this on topic, for this project I used my latest acquisition, a Singer 201 from a local thrift shop for the piecing.

I was driving by one day and saw it sitting outside with a $30 price tag on it and had to buy it. I consider the 201 one of Singer's best-made machines. With the rotating hook and gear-drive motor, they run smooth and quiet and produce perfect stitches. The AG2XXXXX serial number places this one's manufacture squarely in 1941. It's not in the best condition, but they are getting harder to find in the wild and I try to keep one around at all times.

More on the Value of Old Sewing Machines

I had a chance to watch the HGTV show "Cash In The Attic" this morning where the host and an "expert" pick items from a family's possessions and takes them to auction to raise funds for a specific purpose or project. One of this morning's possessions was the lady's Grandmother's Singer sewing machine. The machine lived down in the basement, the finish was dull or extremely dirty and it was covered with cobwebs. Probably frozen solid from being in the damp basement for a prolonged period, too. It was a 15 Class machine, I think a 15-91 but I didn't get a good look at the backside to be sure. The "expert" asked the owner what she thought it was worth and she immediately said, "$400 to $500". The "expert" explained that everyone has a Singer sewing machine, they aren't rare and estimated the value at $50. Needless to say, the owner was considerably deflated, seeing her bathroom remodeling going up in smoke. I was a bit skeptical at the $50 estimate because I have never paid more than half that for a 15-91. It sold at auction for $5.

I run into this all the time - people visit antique shops and see treadle machines marked at $250, then think that because they have a similar black Singer with gold decals, theirs has a similar value. It just ain't so.

Singer 401/500/600 Stitch Selectors

I have seen a couple of postings on forums recently mentioning that the stitch selector controls on Singer models 401, 500, or 600 no longer function. These three popular vintage machines share a similar mechanical structure and this is a common problem with all three models. The good news is that the problem is easily remedied.

When you rotate the stitch select knobs on the 401/500 or move the stitch select levers on the 600, you are causing metal collars to slide up or down on metal posts to select the desired stitch on the camstack. When the collars are not sufficiently lubricated, they stick to the posts and will no longer slide. If the collars don't slide, the control knobs/levers will not move, either.






The cure is to remove the top cover and dribble a drop or two of sewing machine oil down the two posts. The result won't be instantaneous - you should let the machine sit overnight before attempting to move the stitch select controls. Even that may not be enough, you might have to repeat the oil & wait cycle several times. If, after 3 times of oiling and waiting overnight, the collars still will not slide smoothly, try directing some hot air from a hair dryer toward the collars, that should make the collars expand enough to break loose.

Once the collars begin to exhibit a slight bit of movement, exercise them to work the oil in all around the area between the post and collar. Whatever you do, DON'T FORCE THE CONTROLS! If you bend or break the linkage between the control and the collar, it is no longer a simple, low-cost, do-it-yourself repair job.

After you have the stitch selector controls operating smoothly, make the posts part of your regular oiling routine.

Ed

Sometimes You Gotta Let Go!

This week, I made the mistake of stating on a sewing machine collectors' forum that I plan to take a vanload of sewing machines to the landfill. From the firestorm that ensued, you would have thought that I am sending a dozen new Rolls Royces to the crusher! My inbox was flooded with people wanting me to use my time and packing materials to package these old machine carcasses and ship to them one at a time. Others called me an idiot for not trying to sell them, without even knowing what I have. All this reminded me of something I wrote well about 10 years ago. I dredged it up and find that I have Nostradamus tendencies, because here it is with absolutely no changes from the original, which I wrote when I was in Phase 3. I am currently in Phase 7:

The Phases of Sewing Machine Collecting

Phase 1: Looking for a first sewing machine or a backup for your plastic computerized machine that's always in the shop, you find an old Singer 66 or 99 minus the slide plate at Value Village. Although you have little or no interest in old sewing machines, it will be okay as a backup machine. If you don't like it, you can give to a family member (daughter) when she voices an interest in learning to sew and if you can't get it sewing, you can always use it as a decoration in your sewing room.

Phase 2: After cleaning, oiling, adjusting, and testing your find, you learn that it's an enjoyable activity and relatively easy, and you fear that your daughter may actually want it. You start looking for another machine for her so you can keep the first one. You begin going to local auctions, visiting every local thrift shop weekly and spending your lunch hour cruising ebay.

Phase 3: Friends, neighbors, and co-workers now know you collect sewing machines because that's all you talk about. They start dumping their non-working machines on you that have been sitting in the damp basement for 20 years. In your search for SM info, you find and sign up onto dozens of sewing machine forums. You spend more time reading and keeping up with the digests then you do working on the SM's. You sell your plastic computerized machine on the Sewing Rummage for $200 more than you paid for it and swear to never again sew on a machine made after 1955. You have wild dreams of selling your collection to some museum and retiring in luxury.

Phase 4: As you find more and more sources, you begin acquiring them faster than you can fix them up. You vow to limit the collection to one era and one manufacturer and pass by all others. You keep that vow religiously until the next time you visit the Goodwill store and see a neglected (fill in any manufacturer's name here) sitting in the corner on half-price day.

Phase 5: You have so many machines that you start donating or parting out the ugly ducklings in your growing collection (because no one wants to even pay shipping on them). Straight stitch machines are no longer a challenge and you pass them by in favor of more complicated specimens. Since few of those were made before 1955, you raise your manufacturing cutoff date to 1970.

Phase 6: You stop actively looking for more machines as you realize that you have more than you can fix up and sew on for the rest of your life. You settle down to fixing up the nicest few machines in your stable and sewing on them occasionally.

Phase 7: You tire of collecting and begin trying to dispose of your space-hogging old sewing machines, but you find that there is no market for them. Your fantasy of retiring on the proceeds of your collection goes up in smoke. You donate more to charities and haul some of the stripped carcasses to the dump.

Phase 8: You pare down to just three vintage machines you can't bear to part with - a Featherweight and two others. You are now sewing more and more but long for stretch stitches and features that the older machines can't provide.

Phase 9: You go to the local Sew & Vac and buy a brand new $3000 plastic computerized machine so you can enjoy one-step buttonholes, three alphabets, and 9mm zig zag.

Necchi Zig Zag Issue

Tammy is having problems with her Lelia, it won't zig zag. Probably half the vintage Necchis I have owned had this problem when I got them. Necchis are victims of their own perfection - tolerances are so tight that even a minor build-up of corrosion that would not affect a lesser machine is enough to freeze a Necchi up tight. The cure to that problem in all my machines has been to lubricate the swivel arm top and bottom and wait overnight to see if the oil has penetrated enough to loosen up the swing arm.

Mere oiling will probably not be enough to free up the swivel arm, it might need some help. First thing to try is heat, preferably from a hair dryer. Heat will cause the parts to expand, hopefully they will expand enough for some of the new oil to work down in where it will do some good. It might take several applications of oil and heat to get the swivel arm loose enough to move. Apply oil, heat and wait overnight.

Once the swing arm swivels the tiniest bit, you're almost home! Remove the needle, bobbin case and shuttle and hold the stitch width lever to the widest point you can get it without forcing it and bending some linkage. Run the machine at top speed, holding the stitch width lever to the right. As that new oil works its way in, you should notice the needlebar taking wider and wider strokes and the stitch width lever moving gradually to the right. When you are able to move the stitch width lever all the way to the widest stitch and the needlebar is taking full 5mm zig zags, you are done.

Ironically, the Necchi oiling diagram does not show these as oiling points and does not even direct the owner to remove the end cover to oil anything in that end of the machine. There are lots of moving parts in that location that require lubrication - the needlebar, presser bar, takeup lever, and others. Once you've taken care of the zig zag problem, before closing up the machine, put a drop of oil every place metal rubs against metal and your machine will run quieter and smoother.

Ed